{"id":2502721,"date":"2025-10-24T12:08:02","date_gmt":"2025-10-24T16:08:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/national-debt-smashes-historic-milestone-despite-federal-government-shutdown\/"},"modified":"2025-10-24T12:12:03","modified_gmt":"2025-10-24T16:12:03","slug":"national-debt-smashes-historic-milestone-despite-federal-government-shutdown","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/national-debt-smashes-historic-milestone-despite-federal-government-shutdown\/","title":{"rendered":"National Debt Smashes Historic Milestone Despite Federal Government Shutdown"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">18<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fnational-debt-smashes-historic-milestone-despite-federal-government-shutdown%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2502721&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>The U.S. national debt recently surpassed $38 trillion for the first time, reaching $38.02 trillion amid an <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/congress-members-wont-take-pay-during-government-shutdown\/\" title=\"Congress members won&#039;t take pay during ...\">ongoing government shutdown<\/a> fueled by Democratic demands for free healthcare for undocumented immigrants. This milestone reflects a rapid increase, with the debt rising from $37 trillion just over two months ago. Experts, including Michael A. Peterson, CEO of the Peter G.Peterson Foundation,warn that this rapid growth signals lawmakers&#8217; failure to fulfill their fiscal responsibilities. Interest payments on the debt are now one of the fastest-growing federal expenses, costing about $1 trillion annually and expected to increase significantly over the next decade. The government ended the last fiscal year with a $1.8 trillion deficit, and projections indicate that debt held by the public could rise to 120% of the economy by 2035, with annual deficits growing to $2.6 trillion. The ongoing shutdown exacerbates the situation by delaying budget negotiations and raising short-term costs. Officials warn that the current fiscal path is unsustainable and could <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/biden-administration-approves-rule-forcing-companies-to-hire-minority-lgbtq-executives-and-publicly-disclose-diversity\/\" title=\"Biden Administration Approves Rule Forcing Companies To Hire Minority, LGBTQ+ Executives And Publicly Disclose Diversity\">harm economic growth<\/a> by crowding out vital public and private investments.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><\/p>\n<section> \t\t\t\t<script>console.log(\"ad slot (AC1)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC1)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC2)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC3)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC4)\")<\/script><\/p>\n<p>The U.S. national debt hit a new record this week, topping $38 trillion for the first time ever as the federal government remained shut down with Democrats demanding free healthcare for illegal aliens.<\/p>\n<p>Figures from the Treasury Department showed that as of this past Tuesday, the nation&rsquo;s total debt stood at $38,019,813,354,700, marking a historic milestone with <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/senate-democrats-shoot-bill-ensure-troops-paid-government-shutdown\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">the government shutdown<\/a> in its third week.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.foxbusiness.com\/politics\/national-debt-surpasses-38-trillion-milestone-first-time-us-history-spending-surges\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Fox Business<\/a> reported the debt has grown at a record pace this year.<\/p>\n<p>It took just over two months for the national debt to jump from $37 trillion to $38 trillion from mid-August until late October.<\/p>\n<p>Less than a year ago, it had just crossed $36 trillion. Fox Business attributed the rise to spending on Social Security and Medicare obligations, along with rising interest payments from higher Federal Reserve rates.<\/p>\n<p>  <script> console.log(\"A\/B Test Video Player\"); \/\/ Helper function to set a cookie function setVideoCookie(name, value, days) {     var expires=\"\";     if (days) {         var date=new Date();         date.setTime(date.getTime() + (days*24*60*60*1000));         expires=\"; expires=\" + date.toUTCString();     }     document.cookie=name + \"=\" + (value || \"\")  + expires + \"; path=\/\"; }  \/\/ Helper function to get a cookie function getVideoCookie(name) {     var nameEQ=name + \"=\";     var ca=document.cookie.split(';');     for(var i=0; i <ca.length; i++) {         var c=ca[i];         while (c.charAt(0)==' ') c=c.substring(1,c.length);         if (c.indexOf(nameEQ)==0) return c.substring(nameEQ.length,c.length);     }     return null; }  \/\/ Function to determine or retrieve the split test group function assignSplitTestGroup() {     var group=getVideoCookie('splitTestGroup'); 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        observeElement(paragraphToObserve);     }); }  \/\/ stn function stnPlayer() {     \/\/ may want to pass in         document.addEventListener(\"DOMContentLoaded\", function() {         function loadScript(src) {             const script=document.createElement(\"script\");             script.src=src;             script.async=true;             document.body.appendChild(script);         }         function findPreviousParagraph(selector, x) {             const targetElement=document.querySelector(selector);             if (!targetElement) {                 console.warn(\"Target element not found.\");                 return null;             }              \/\/ Get all <\/p>\n<p> elements in order as they appear in the document             let paragraphs=Array.from(document.querySelectorAll(\"p\"));              \/\/ Find the index of the last <\/p>\n<p> before the target element             let targetIndex=paragraphs.findIndex(p=> p.compareDocumentPosition(targetElement) & Node.DOCUMENT_POSITION_PRECEDING);              if (targetIndex===-1 || targetIndex <x) {                 console.warn(\"Not enough paragraphs before the target element.\");                 return null;             }              return paragraphs[targetIndex - x];         }          \/\/ Set up IntersectionObserver         function observeElement(element) {             if (!element) return;              const observer=new IntersectionObserver(                 (entries)=> {                     entries.forEach(entry=> {                         if (entry.isIntersecting) {                             console.log(\"Paragraph is now visible:\", entry.target.textContent.trim());                             loadScript(\"https:\/\/embed.sendtonews.com\/player3\/embedcode.js?fk=s28Az7AY\");                             observer.disconnect();                         }                     });                 },                 { threshold: 0.5 } \/\/ Adjust threshold as needed             );              observer.observe(element);         }          \/\/ Add custom styles for STN player         const style=document.createElement('style');         style.textContent=`         #videoPlayer {             min-height: 460px;             margin-bottom: 10px;         }         @media only screen and (max-width: 780px) {             #videoPlayer {                 min-height: 200px;             }         }         `;         document.head.appendChild(style);          \/\/ Add needed div for STN player         const stnDiv=document.createElement(\"div\");         \/\/ add data-stn-player attribute         stnDiv.setAttribute(\"data-stn-player\", \"s28Az7AY\");         document.getElementById(\"videoPlayer\").appendChild(stnDiv);           \/\/ Find the 1st paragraph before #videoPlayer and observe it         let paragraphToObserve=findPreviousParagraph(\"#videoPlayer\", 2);         observeElement(paragraphToObserve);     }); }  \/\/ Assign user to a group window.adUserGroup=assignSplitTestGroup(); let isSubbed=getCookie( 'ff_subbed' ); 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Peterson, CEO of the Peter G. Peterson Foundation, told the network that reaching $38 trillion during a government shutdown was &ldquo;the latest troubling sign that lawmakers are not meeting their basic fiscal duties.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;If it seems like we are adding debt faster than ever, that&rsquo;s because we are,&rdquo; Peterson said. &ldquo;We passed $37 trillion just two months ago, and the pace we&rsquo;re on is twice as fast as the rate of growth since 2000.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Peterson added that the cost of paying interest on the debt is now one of the fastest-growing expenses in the federal budget, with roughly $1 trillion in annual interest payments.<\/p>\n<p>Over the last decade, the government spent $4 trillion on interest, and that number could reportedly jump to $14 trillion over the next 10 years.<\/p>\n<p>He warned that those costs &ldquo;crowd out important public and private investments in our future, harming the economy for every American.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/cdc-will-stop-reporting-daily-covid-cases\/\" title=\"CDC Will Stop Reporting Daily COVID Cases\">federal government ended<\/a> the last fiscal year on Sept. 30 with a $1.8 trillion budget deficit, meaning lawmakers in Washington spent nearly $2 trillion more than the government collected in taxes and other revenue.<\/p>\n<p>The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office projected that the debt held by the public would rise from about 100 percent of the nation&rsquo;s total economy in 2025 to roughly 120 percent by 2035.<\/p>\n<p>The <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >agency expects annual deficits<\/a> to grow to $2.6 trillion by 2035, adding $22.7 trillion more to the total debt.<\/p>\n<p>Peterson separately <a href=\"https:\/\/fortune.com\/2025\/10\/22\/how-much-national-debt-38-trillion-deficit-tariffs\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">told<\/a> Fortune that the U.S. &ldquo;passed $37 trillion just two months ago, and the pace we&rsquo;re on is twice as fast as the rate of growth since 2000.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>He said the ongoing government shutdown has only made things worse by delaying budget talks and driving up short-term operational costs.<\/p>\n<p>Past shutdowns have proven expensive, but the Treasury&rsquo;s Bureau of Fiscal Service warned in its 2024 financial report that &ldquo;current policy is not sustainable&rdquo; and that the U.S. had found itself on an &ldquo;unsustainable fiscal path&rdquo; if spending continues at this pace, Fortune reported.<\/p>\n<p>According to Treasury Department <a href=\"https:\/\/fiscaldata.treasury.gov\/datasets\/historical-debt-outstanding\/historical-debt-outstanding\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">records<\/a>, the national debt has climbed dramatically since the pandemic.<\/p>\n<p>It totaled $28.4 trillion in 2021, $30.9 trillion in 2022, $33.2 trillion in 2023, and $35.5 trillion in 2024 before reaching $37.6 trillion at the end of fiscal year 2025.<\/p>\n<div style=\"position: relative;\">\n<div class=\"ff-fancy-header-container\"> \t\t\t \t<\/div>\n<div class=\"entry-submit-correction inner-content\">\n<div class=\"correction-form\">\n<form style=\"display: none;\">\n<div class=\"sc-name-field\"> \t\t\t\t\t\t<label>* Name<\/label> \t\t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"text\" name=\"name\" required> \t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<div class=\"sc--field\"> \t\t\t\t\t\t<label>* <\/label> \t\t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"text\" name=\"\" required> \t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<p> \t\t\t\t\t<label>* Message<\/label> \t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t<textarea name=\"message\" required><\/textarea> \t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<div class=\"required-message\" style=\"display: none; padding-bottom: 15px;\">* All fields are required.<\/div>\n<p> \t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"submit\" value=\"Submit\" onclick=\"event.preventDefault(); firefly_sc();\"> \t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<div class=\"firefly-sc-confirm\" style=\"display: none;\">Success!<\/div>\n<\/p><\/form>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p> \t\t<script> \t\t\tfunction firefly_sc() { \t\t\t\tif( typeof window.captchaPublicKey==typeof undefined ){ \t\t\t\t\tconsole.error('window.captchaPublicKey is not defined'); \t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\tgrecaptcha.execute( window.captchaPublicKey, { action: 'submit_correction' } ).then( function( token ) { \t\t\t\t\tvar opts={ \t\t\t\t\t\taction:    'firefly_sc_submit', \t\t\t\t\t\tname:      document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"name\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\t:     document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\tmessage:   document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"message\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\tpost_id:   firefly_post_id, \t\t\t\t\t\tcap_token: token \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\tvar inputs=[ 'name', '', 'message' ];  \t\t\t\t\tfor( var i=0; i <inputs.length; i++ ) if( ! ( opts[inputs[i]]=document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"' + inputs[i] + '\"]' ).value ) ) { \t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .required-message' ).style.display='block'; \t\t\t\t\t\treturn; \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction input[type=\"submit\"]' ).style.display='none'; \t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-submitting-img' ).src=firefly_loading_gif_url; \t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-submitting-img' ).style.display='inline-block';  \t\t\t\t\tconsole.log( 'ma subbing' );  \t\t\t\t\tif( firefly_post_id ) opts['post_id']=firefly_post_id;  \t\t\t\t\t\/* Send the data using post with element id name and name2*\/ \t\t\t\t\tvar posting=jQuery.post( firefly_ajax_url, opts );  \t\t\t\t\t\/* Alerts the results *\/ \t\t\t\t\tposting.done( function( response ) { \t\t\t\t\t\tif( response.success ) { \t\t\t\t\t\t\tconsole.log( response.data ); \t\t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-submitting-img' ).style.display='none'; \t\t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-confirm' ).style.display='block';  \t\t\t\t\t\t\tdataLayer.push( { 'event': 'submit-correction' } ); \t\t\t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t} \t\t<\/script> \t     \t\t\t\t\t\t     \t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<p style=\"border: 1px solid #f5f5f5; padding: 16px;\">Advertise with The Western Journal and reach millions of highly engaged readers, while supporting our work. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/advertise-us\/?wj_source=article\">Advertise Today<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><script>console.log(\"ad slot (BA1)\")<\/script> \t\t<\/p>\n<div class=\"ff-fancy-header-container\"> \t\t\t \t<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The U.S. national debt reached a new high this week, surpassing $38 trillion for the first time while the federal government remains shut down amid Democrats&#8217; calls for free healthcare for undocumented immigrants. Treasury Department data revealed that as of last Tuesday, the total debt was $38,019,813,354,700-a historic milestone occurring during the third week of the shutdown. Fox Business noted that this year&#8217;s debt increase has been unprecedentedly rapid. It took just over two months for the debt to rise from $37 trillion in mid-August to $38 trillion by late October. Less than a year ago, it had only recently passed $36 trillion. The surge is largely due to spending on Social Security and Medicare benefits and higher interest payments resulting from increased Federal Reserve rates<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2502722,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Nationally-Debt-Clock.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33651],"tags":[65843,65842,50650,43698,38981],"class_list":["post-2502721","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-western-journal","tag-economic-milestone","tag-federal-government-shutdown","tag-government-finance","tag-national-debt","tag-us-economy"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Nationally-Debt-Clock.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2502721","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2502721"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2502721\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2502730,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2502721\/revisions\/2502730"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2502722"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2502721"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2502721"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2502721"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}